Enjoying a late-career renaissance, Venus Williams has made it to her third Australian Open semifinals. The last time she reached the semifinals there was in 2003, when she lost the final to her younger sister Serena.
Image: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/D. Alangkara
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Venus Williams became the oldest woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in 23 years, earning a spot in the last four at the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old beat number 24-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 7-6 (3) on Tuesday, winning the last six points in the tiebreaker to earn her 50th career win at Melbourne Park.
Both Williams and Russian Pavlyuchenkova surrendered serve with notable regularity, despite perfect conditions for tennis at Rod Laver Arena.
In the end, Pavlyuchenkova crumbled with a double-fault on match point to bolster the American's hopes of a maiden title at Melbourne Park.
"I'm so excited, she never let up. We have always had these quality matches. I'm not happy just with this but so happy I can go further," Williams said.
Williams is set to face off against fellow American VandewegheImage: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/D. Alangkara
The 13th seed is now scheduled to play fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe for a place in the final after Vandeweghe beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza Blanco 6-4 6-0. There is a chance Venus could once again play her younger sister, Serena, in the final.
Venus hasn't reached the semifinals in Australia since 2003, when she lost the final to Serena.
Tuesday's win makes her the oldest woman to reach a Grand Slam semi since 37-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994. Williams made her professional debut in 1994, and had been enjoying a late-career renaissance following a battle with a rare autoimmune disorder.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion was yet to drop a set in the tournament. She benefited from a favorable draw, playing two qualifiers and China's fifth ranked player Duan Yingying.
Match breakdown
Two netted forehands gave Pavlyuchenkova a break point on Venus Williams' opening serve, but she couldn't convert and it went with serve.
She had another chance in game three and hit an untouchable cross-court backhand. A double fault soon leveled the two again.
Williams then struggled to find the mark on first serve and Pavlyuchenkova jumped on the second, with a netted forehand from Williams again giving a break away.
Neither player was serving well but Williams started asserting herself, forcing Pavlyuchenkova around the court to create opportunities. She broke back for 4-4 with a volley after a high lunging forehand from the Russian.
Williams then hit some amazing winners, including an unstoppable backhand down the line to secure the set by breaking again to love.
The American held serve in the opening game of the second set to immediately put the pressure on and kept hammering away in an 11-minute second game, which Pavlyuchenkova finally won after eight deuces.
A wild backhand in the next game handed momentum to the Russian, who broke for a 2-1 lead, but after a seesawing Williams broke straight back.
Another break each and it was 6-6 and into a tiebreak where Williams used her big-match experience to prevail, with Pavlyuchenkova succumbing on a double fault.
Meet Mischa and Alexander Zverev
Two German brothers have taken the tennis world by storm with their performances at the Australian Open. But with the sport playing a major role in their family history, it should not have come as a surprise to anyone.
Image: Getty Images/V. Caligiuri
Brothers in the big-time
Alexander (pictured left) and Mischa Zverev are the first German brothers to appear together at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. While 19-year-old Alexander "Sascha" Zverev is currently the youngest player in the top 50 of the world rankings (No. 24), Mischa has only just returned following injury (No. 50).
Image: Getty Images/V. Caligiuri
Major upset
Mischa caused one of the biggest shocks at the 2017 Australian Open,beating world No. 1 Andy Murray in the fourth round. Just two years ago, Zverev was ranked outside of the top 1,000 after several injuries, but has fought his way back with an attacking style that brought him his headline-grabbing win.
Image: Reuters/J. Reed
Emerging from the shadows
Meanwhile, Alexander bowed out in the third round in Melbourne after being edged out by former champion Rafael Nadal. Alexander had taken a two-sets-to-one lead and his performance seemed to confirm Nadal's assessment that the teenager is a future world No 1.
Image: REUTERS
That winning feeling (Part 1)
Alexander already has first-hand experience of lifting trophies. In 2014, he claimed the junior title at the Australian Open, defeating Stefan Kozlov in the final. His progress in the senior game has shown that it should be a taste of things to come.
Image: Reuters
That winning feeling (Part 2)
Having reached the final in tournaments in Nice and Halle in 2016, Alexander rounded off the season with his first ATP trophy. In late September, he defeated Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka to secure victory in the St. Petersburg Open.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/A. Maltsev
A family affair
The young Alexander (pictured front-left with Mischa), was born into a tennis-mad family. Parents Irena and Alexander Zeverev Sr. (pictured back row) are both former players. Alexander Sr. was a member of the Soviet Union's Davis Cup side and now works as his Alexander's coach.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/N. Rupp
Solid support network
Although the family now resides in Monte Carlo, they have retained a base in their adopted hometown of Hamburg in Germany as well as in Florida. The Zverev's parents follow their offspring around the world and the tight family unit has been a major factor in their success.
Image: Getty Images/V. Caligiuri
Instant impression
Fellow German tennis star Andrea Petkovic is already a confirmed fan. After the pair played as mixed doubles partners at the Hopman Cup, Petkovic (pictured congratulating Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic) wrote that Alexander could also work as a model!
Image: Getty Images/P. Kane
Lucky omen?
But, Alexander also showed how stylish he can be on the court at the Hopman Cup. In his singles match at the team competition, he beat Swiss superstar Roger Federer ... who just happens to Mischa's opponent in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
